Athens education friends, CCSD friends, well it seems that sadly, the #slowmovingtrainwreckdumpsterfire has gained some momentum: here goes (with apologies and full credit to @SethAbramson^ for the inspiration)
“With last night’s latest in a flurry of CCSD announcements, on a Friday evening, the district’s unbearably slow-moving chaos machine has gathered steam: there have now been 15* principal turnovers (not including APs) and this is in a district with 21 schools. It feels like we’re just on the Titanic seeing the ‘berg less than 50 miles away and screaming on the deck together while .….. [bed. note: the future is unwritten, so far!]”
I am just glad there are some physicians in this beloved community who can remind us about First Do No Harm, the sacred dictum that informs all medical care…but the rest of us need guidance on what to think about those who clearly think “disruption” (breaking things apart in order to rebuild a supposedly newer and better model a/k/a Pie in the Sky) is the only way (or hit the highway)?
Query: does all this really lead to “Equity?” In what world?
Query: is test-based metrics the best, or only measure that really matters when our district evaluates schools and the educators who work in them?
Query: do we all agree that we want effectively integrated, truly diverse schools in Athens– schools that work for each student regardless of their race, socio-economic level, background, citizenship, special needs gender-orientation– schools that enhance the odds that our schools can provide all the community’s children the full promise of public education done right: “each child prepared for life.” (Z Smith Reynolds Foundation materials)
Query: is it possible to care deeply about your own children but at the same time care about and want the best for other people’s children as well?
Query: Is Rev William Barber right when he says that for us to make progress on social justice and civil rights and poverty issues, blacks and whites must work together in coalition– that this kind of “fusion politics” and collaboration is the only way in our nation’s history that it’s actually worked and resulted in positive change? (for more on Barber, please see his work on the “Third Reconstruction”)
Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves as dialogic discussants. Please cite examples and real-world effectiveness. And please, keep it civil, fact-based and realize that the #MADNESS “No Jerks” policy is in effect– disagree all you want but do not attack ad hominem-ly. BTW, sticking to principles and policy is not really that hard: just stick to principles and policies!
Thank you friends. Stay calm, carry on, pray harder, speak truth to power, remember the classic one about “the silence of the good people” and all that. Truisms, like “narratives” often turn out to be true. Keep the faith.
–Bertis Downs, member of the “parent community”
* I think— I’m an amateur, non-doctoral degreed, parent volunteer just trying to keep up with all this stuff the best I can. Might be off by 1 on the principal attrition count. It might take a slide rule…
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^@SethAbramsons’s original twit-text:
Trump’s new, unbearably slow-moving scandal: him waiting to take us to war w/ Iran until he’s about to face the music. We’re like Titanic passengers seeing an iceberg from 50 miles off and gathering on deck to scream together for 50 miles while taking no action to save ourselves.
For those wondering about “context” I refer you to
- the great Monroe approach: “Ever notice how ‘what the hell” is always the right answer”
- Flagpole.com in the City Dope and In The Loop news sections
- my personal FB page and the Public Group Moms and Dads Now Enduring Surrealistic Stupidity (#MADNESS)
BERTIS DOWNS 